Drills for in-to-out swing path

[ProStuart]

Guys,

Has anyone worked on changing their swing path from out-to-in to in-to-out? I'm in the process of trying to do just this and I'm struggling to get rid of that over the top move causing the out-to-in. I guess this is mainly because I've had the same swing for 10 years and changing my muscle memory is going to be tough.

I've tried the following:

- practice swings in slow motion - can get correct in-to-out path working
- headcover next to ball angled on the correct path
- imagining I'm trying to hit my right-hand trouser pocket on the downswing

Trying any of the above at full swing speed or put a driver in my hand and this all goes out of the window!!

What worked for you?

Stu

[goblue107501]

I had an over-the-top move several years ago. When I took lessons, one of the things that we did, just as a start, was to put a tee in the ground. If you imagine your target line is 12 o'clock, then place a tee in the ground at 1-2 o'clock a few inches in front of the ball. When you swing, you want to be trying to hit the tee. You shouldn't hit it, you just want to be swinging towards it. Every once in a while if things go bad, I will look at that area on the ground and try and swing to it.

In my experience, the backswing has a lot to do with the downswing so if you are not in the correct position at the top, this may not be of much help.

[Zeph]

I've changed from out-to-in to in-to-out over the last couple of months. Deep hands on the take-away is the one thing that helped most, but also swinging less with the arms, more hip push and not looping the hands at the top of the backswing. Initially, I would look at the take-away.

Of course, without a video, it's impossible to tell why you struggle with it.

[ProStuart]

Deep hands on the take-away is the one thing that helped most

Zeph,

Can you elaborate on this point a little? What do you mean by "deep"? I barely get time to get out and play once a week, let alone have the time to make a video of my swing sadly....... Stu

[CarlSpackler]

I think out/in swing path is mainly a head thing. When you start the downswing, you start on the path to hit the ball with the end of the shaft, not the piece of metal (or wood) hanging off the end of it. Of course your brain figures this out somewhere on the way down and pulls it back in. So I would try this, go to the range and put a tee all the way in the ground just to the inside (towards you) from where the ball is teed up. Now think about swinging towards that, not the ball.

[Zeph]

Some links that covers the subject:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...ands-Explained
http://thesandtrap.com/forum/entries...ep-Hands-Drill

[saevel25]

Swing the club with your right foot back, your left side will now block you from comming over the top, and you will get the feeling of comming from the inside.

[Scott_K]

What's working for me lately is David Wedzik's "tossing the bolder" video from the golf evolution site. One of my main problems with the driver is keeping my head behind the ball at impact. When I do it correctly I have a decent shot of hitting the fairway. The ball goes relativily straight or tails off a little to the right. Still a work in progress, but I'm seeing a little more predictability in my shots. Pretty sure I have an out to in swing path, but it's a lot less dramatic than it was towards the end of last year.

When my head moves forward during the downswing, the ball is starting right, turning right and I'm usually teeing up a provisional.

[CoolBreeze20]

Two best thoughts I can concentrate on when I feel myself coming over the top (or when my misses/divots indicate I am) are 1) Keep the right shoulder from moving "out" (by this I mean, moving the way you are facing on the initial part of the downswing. This can especially creep in on the downswing). 2) I actually got from Michael Breed on the Golf Fix, and it works for me cause I threw frisbee a lot when I was younger. When on the downswing and at impact, get the feeling you are throwing a frisbee underhand with your right hand. This can help keep your lag and keep your downswing on the inside plane. May not work for everyone, but these (2) swing thoughts have really worked for me.

[Melj]

I similarly struggled with changing my downswing path from steep/over the top to a flatter in to out path. Despite knowing what I had to do from detailed instruction from a coach and video taping each day what I thought was the needed swing adjustment, there was insignificant change either due to habit and/or muscle memory.

The key trigger I came upon almost as a last resort was starting to do a number of "super-loose" practice swings not stopping between each swing - so just back/forward and back/forward with loose grip, loose wrists, loose arms, etc etc and on those swings ensuring I was starting the downswing from the lower half of my body. As I was just continually swinging back & forward, I found it easy to even further loosen my swings and also found it was quite easy to over-exaggerate the key elements I needed- hip bump, right elbow in, in-out path. I video-taped these practice swings to confirm that finally I was achieving a totally different downswing path that was flatter and in-out whilst still ensuring my backswing path was going back squarely.

I then took this too the range to do 3-4 practice swings before hitting a practice shot and then to the course where I did the same loose swings before my shots. Whilst there are still elements I need to work on, the above process allowed me to make a significant change after all previous efforts totally failed.

Like I guess all "triggers" what worked for me may not work for everyone, but strongly suggest you try it, if like me you felt you had tried everything else to no avail.

[mvmac]

I similarly struggled with changing my downswing path from steep/over the top to a flatter in to out path. Despite knowing what I had to do from detailed instruction from a coach and video taping each day what I thought was the needed swing adjustment, there was insignificant change either due to habit and/or muscle memory.

Welcome to the site @Melj , the last post in this thread was from a few years old but you can find plenty of current threads here. Great to have you.

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/newposts

[ghalfaire]

I have found that just trying to hit the inside of ball of the ball, as opposed to the back center, helped me quit my over the top swing.  If you're a baseball player hit it to right field.

[Abu3baid]

I am currently working on feels to get that in out path going. I am a habitual left swinger and it will be tough to break that. However, the one feel that I'm making progress with is the split hand drill. Just hold the club with split hands (doesn't have to be too far apart, but noticeable) and pretend that it is a hockey stick and bring the left hand in toward the ball. For me my body automatically engages and I have no choice but to go from in to out... I actually got balls like this, and then grip the club normally and try to remember the same feel. I can't wait to video in slow mo to see where I'm at.. I can feel how short my back swing is with this drill so it is really helping me work on both my priorities at once.. Good luck!